Young people and families from all walks of life across London came together at the Westway Sports & Fitness Centre, a football tournament hosted by EristarsUK.
More than 80 young athletes took part in our end of summer friendship tournament. For some of them, it was their first competition, with parents, friends and teammates in the stands cheering them on.
Competition organiser Goitom Seyoum said: “The atmosphere was like electric, the fans were so excited and the tremendous performances ensued. This was the perfect chance for our stars to showcase their months of hard training during a challenging year.”
The event began with EristarsUK versus Shepherds Bush. These saw two subs - within 15 minutes amazing performances by both sides. The semi-finalists were Red sea stars (Kent) Vs South London and EristarsUK vs. Hiwnet (North London). The final game was concluded with Red Sea Stars beating South London in a 6 - 5 on penalties and declared an overall winner of the tournament. Congratulations to the Red Sea Stars who grabbed the winning prize of £500, a trophy and a medal was given to each team player. In the second place, South London, each player was awarded medals and as a runners up they were awarded £250 as a prize.
Goitom added: “Quite exciting within this age group was the emergence of Teme from West London; he score at 12.63s the first goal. A few more years lie ahead from his age group to emerge a real competition as this exciting talent makes his mark.”
Alula Abraha, co-ordinator, said: “A huge effort from EristarsUK, with contribution from each team, ensured many young children from Kensington & Chelsea and beyond were able to access their very first football competition.
“They enjoyed going through the process of registration, warming up and performing under pressure whilst having fun and achieving huge personal goals. EristarsUK is proud to have offered such a unique opportunity for young people, their friends and families.”
The organisers don't know how Abraham Afeworki's song has become a favourite anthem for the fans at this summer’s tournament. The red sea star team danced to it on the pitch after a 6-5 victory over South London that saw them win the final. The players linked arms and jumped up and down as fans belted out the celebration from the stands.
